The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-09-22
The Poetic Commission.

NEW YORK, September N.-The
Pacific Railroad Commission resumed
its examination this morning.
Mr.. Cohen, in answer to requests for
vouchers as to large disbursements
made by Huntington, stated that Gov
ernor Stanford had refused to forward
them, as the commission had already
great many important documents OF
the companv which it had failed to re-
turn. He did not propose to lntrust
any more such papers with the Com
mission.
C. P. Huntington was particularly
questioned with reference to these
vouchers, which bear his signature, and
appear to be for illegal services and ex-
pense account" 1t all happened so
long ago, that witness could not re-
member exactly how this money was
used for any but legal and proper pur-
poses.
Mr.. Anderson asked witness if he
thought it proper to use this money in
payment of large fees to members OF
Congress, at the time bills of great pc
cunlary interest to the Central Pacific
Company were pending, and before the
members had voted thereon ?
Witness answered. should hesitate
before paying such fees; of course,
when we wanted legal advice, and we
required it frequently, We always
wanted the best.
Huntington id between 1872 and the
present time there had been many bills
in Congress affecting the Central Pacific
company, and it was necessary to col
-Iect great deal7of information regasd-
ing the road for the information of
members of Congress, and this cost
great deal of money; and 1t was also
necessary to retain and employ men to
approach Congressman and explain to
them Just how matters stood. One
man couId not see all of these legis-
lators, and it was necessary for great
many to act. Witness said 1t was
lively times for the Central Pacific while
Tom SCOTS project was before Con-
gress. Witness wrote q great many
letters to D. B. Cotton at this time. he
understood these had been stolen from
a safe IN San Francisco. -Four agents
of Colton's administrators had tried to
sell them to witness, but he declined to
buy.
The commissioners produced copies
of three letters, with names omitted,
being enjoined in San Francisco by the
Central Pacific from producing names
the blank in one letter, in which
he characterized California. Congress-
man as I'D hog" In the other
Scott said he had switched" certain
Senators to his side, but that they
could have been switched" back. This,
he explained, meant they could be
brought back to the Union Pacific
side by proper argument. MIR.
Huntington was beginning to get ex-
cited, and exclaimed dramatically: Il
never wrote a letter that l would not be
willing to have published to the world
and posted on every bulletin, [ never
used money to influence congressman.
1t would be strange if among any 400
there should not be some corrupt men,
though" Mr.. Huntington said he did
not think Scott ever paid or offered to
pay for the votes of members of Con-
gress. AS to his statement in another
latter, that the committee on railroads
in the House was fixed up for Scott, the
witness SAID, II don't think that any
body has been bought with money"
Here the witness began to get angry
with the suggestion in Ander-
sons interrogatOries that there was
something :yenal in the language of
his letters, and he proceeded to make |
an 1mpdSSlOueu SpeeCu. nc oaiu' a
lot of thin-skinned politicians are al
ways ready to place wrong construc- |
ton on my language, and l see that it |
has even disturbed this commission.
Commissioner Anderson These |
letters are produced to ascertain if any
of the money represented By these un-
explained vouchers was used to pur-
chase legislation.
Mr.. Huntington L can say en-
that it never was.
1t was decided he should submit some |
scheme for settling the affairs of the
road and government at Fridays ses- |